7 Futuristic Gadgets You Can Buy Now

Using a red sensor, the LVL is a fitness tracker that delivers more biometric parameters—like hydration level—more accurately than units that have a less sensitive green light. It displays your real-time fluid levels in one of four categories and makes recommendations, so you stay optimally hydrated. (It also tracks activity, heart rate, and sleep.) $199

Bragi made a killing on Kickstarter—having raised more than $3 million, it’s still the site’s 25th most successful campaign. And there’s good reason: These tiny earbuds have no wires or buttons—you tap and swipe to alter the volume or change songs. The built-in microphone picks up your voice clearly during phone calls, but can also be activated when you’re running so you can hear potential dangers like fast-approaching cars. Our tests showed the step counting and pace estimates to be quite accurate. $299; amazon.com

There’s a battle being waged for a material to keep you cooler. Polartec’s new Delta Fabric helps you dodge the heat by keeping you wet. Currently found in OR’s Gauge Tee, it combines hydrophobic yarns closest to your skin to move water away from your body with hydrophilic yarns on the exterior that absorb the water and help you radiate heat. During our testing in a brutally hot summer, the soft fabric never became soggy or bouncy. $59

Personalized 3-D-printed accessories and electronics are increasingly popular—and many are created with a smartphone app. Wiivv crafts insoles customized for your foot shape using just an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper (to make a size comparison) and five photos you snap. The app walks you through the process with easy-to-understand videos, and the insoles are delivered in just a week. $79; wiivv.com

Optical heart-rate sensors can tell you how hard you’re working out, but Omegawave tells you how hard serious competitors should work out. The Bluetooth-connected chest strap hooks up to electrodes that attach to your hand and forehead. Wearing it for five minutes before you run will give a measure of your cardiac and central nervous systems—and an app adjusts that day’s workout to help you avoid overtraining. One tester said the results were as expected—his scores were low on days he was tired—but found it too much hassle for those days when rushed to get out the door to run. $249 (includes 1-year subscription); omegawave.com

The shrinking of gadgets continues at an incredible pace. A little more than a decade ago, ginormous GPS watches told you not much more than distance and time. But the new 735XT packs in all the features a cross-training runner or triathlete could want—optical heart-rate sensor, lightning fast and accurate GPS, smart watch notifications, all-day activity tracking, support for a slew of bike and run accessories, plus an amazing 14-hour battery. Given its clean design and small case, it really is on the cusp of being the only watch you’ll ever need to wear. $450; amazon.com

Expect to see activity monitors embedded into garments in the future. A promising pacesetter of this trend is OMSignal. This sports bra is comfortable and easily adjustable, and you can’t even tell there are sensors built into the fabric to track heart rate, cadence, distance, and breathing rhythm. A companion app for the iPhone leverages that data to tell you when you should push harder and which days you should back off or rest. $169; omsignal.com